


128 Miles

by orphan_account



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 23:57:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14580486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: 128 miles; the distance between Tulsa and Windrixville. The distance separating brothers from brother. The distance Sodapop Curtis never thought he'd have to face.I actually wrote this as a school assignment. It's pretty much the time Johnny and Ponyboy spent in Windrixville but all from Sodapop's perspective.





	128 Miles

My eyes fluttered open. It took me a moment to realize where exactly I was until I remembered I had fallen asleep on the sofa. I remembered that Darry and I were waiting for Ponyboy to return when I fell asleep. I slowly and groggily sat up, rubbing my eyes. I focused in on what was happening. I heard voices, and it took me a moment to realize it was Darry and Ponyboy. I heard a “You what?” come from Darry, but I couldn't quite tell what they were talking about. 

"Hey, Ponyboy," I chimed in sleepily. "where ya been?"

"I didn't mean to," Ponyboy said, disregarding my question. "I was talking to Johnny and we both dropped off..."

"I reckon it never occurred to you that your brothers might be worrying their heads off and afraid to call the police because something like that could get you two thrown in a boys' home so quick it'd make your head spin.” All of this fighting has been making my head spin. “And you were asleep in the lot? Ponyboy, what on earth is the matter with you? Can't you use your head? You haven't even got a coat on." 

"I said I didn't mean to..." Ponyboy looked as if he were about to cry. 

"I didn't mean to!" Darry shouted. "I didn't think! I forgot! That's all I hear out of you! Can't you think of anything?" 

"Darry..." I began, trying to diffuse the situation. 

Darry turned to me. "You keep your trap shut! I'm sick and tired of hearin' you stick up for him."

I didn’t know what to say. Hell, I didn’t know what to think. Darry never yells at me. Sure, he had a couple times, but that was a long time ago. I looked over at Ponyboy. He looked as if he was going to explode, and he did. 

“You don’t yell at him!” He exclaimed, seething with anger. 

I looked at Darry. He looked as if he had just witnessed something much drier than his little brother yelling at him. He looked like he, too, was going to explode.

I watched as Darry turned slightly before reaching his hand up and slapping Ponyboy square in the centre of his left cheek. Ponyboy stumbled back against the door. 

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I mean, yeah, the gang got into fights, but barely ever with each other. If we did, it was never serious and never between family. Nobody ever hit anyone in this family, especially not Ponyboy. I stared at Darry, wide-eyed and shocked to the core. 

Darry looked down at the palm of his hand and then back at Ponyboy. His eyes went wide, looking like he regretted everything he just said and did. "Ponyboy..."

Ponyboy tuned on his heels and opened the door. He leaped out of the door faster than I could comprehend. I watched as he bolted down the driveway and down the street. 

"Pony, I didn't mean to!" Darry shouted. “Pony! Ponyboy!” He ran over to the door, leaning on the doorframe and still calling out for Ponyboy.

That was when it set in. He wasn’t coming back. 

I let my head fall back onto the couch, staring at the ceiling. I rubbed my eyes again. This had to be a dream, I thought, though I knew it wasn’t. It was all too real. Darry had hit Ponyboy; he had just given him that last push to run away. I sighed as I came to a realization. All of this, all of it, was Darry’s fault. He was the one who was always fighting with Pony. He was the one who hit him. 

I don’t know what it was, but I felt a fire light inside me. I love Darry, he’s my brother, but Darry had pushed Ponyboy away, and that made me seethe with hatred.  
I sat up, shutting my eyes tight, taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I really was trying to calm myself down, but I knew I couldn’t. I care about Ponyboy more than anything in the world, and Darry made him leave, all I wanted to do was scream at him. 

But I couldn’t. I don’t want him to have to have two brothers mad at him, so I took a few more deep breaths as I opened my eyes. I saw Darry leaning on the wall next to the still open door. 

“Dammit…” He muttered under his breath. He looked up slightly. “What’ve I done?” 

I rubbed my eyes. Despite my nap, I was extremely tired. But, then again, when was I not tired? 

“Alright,” I said, beginning to stand up (and somehow managing not to speak too loudly). “I’m gonna go try and get some actual sleep.” 

Darry didn’t respond, just stared at the ground. I sighed as I turned and began to walk towards and up the stairs. On my way tomy own room, I passed by Pony’s. The door was cracked open slightly (which was normal, he almost always had his door open a bit) and I could see his bed and bedside table, as well as part of his bookshelf. I shut the door completely. 

It was strange sleeping in my own bed that night. I had been sleeping in the same bed as Ponyboy for years, and so it was hard to adjust. I tossed and turned all night, and my head was spinning at the thought that Pony was out there, somewhere, alone. 

I didn’t get any sleep that night.

We read in the paper that a soc, Bob, had been found dead in the park by our house. Could that’ve been Ponyboy? No, Pony couldn’t kill someone. He’d gotten into fights, but not killed anyone, never. 

Later that day, Dally and Two-Bit came around and told us Johnny was also nowhere to be found. Darry and I assumed that they had left together. The two were acting like they knew something but they couldn’t tell us. How I knew? I wasn’t exactly know. They were speaking slightly different. Maybe I was overthinking it, but it seemed like they were hiding something from us. 

The police had come to our house that same day asking questions about Ponyboy, as well as Johnny, and where we thought they would’ve ran off to. They asked us about the dead soc and showed us the descriptions, which seemed to line up with Pony and Johnny. There was no way. Dally and Two-Bit were around, and Dally had told them that Johnny and Pony had taken off for Texas. 

“Texas?” One officer had asked, a confused look on his face. 

“Yeah, Texas,” Dally confirmed. “Didn’t ya hear me? They’re headed for Texas.” 

I didn’t think they were actually headed for Texas, were they? I couldn’t know for sure, but everyone seemed to believe Dally, so I guess I should, too. Maybe that was what he wasn’t telling us, but I couldn’t tell. His lying abilities somehow spike when police are around. You never could really tell with Dallas Winston. 

The next few days were rough, for multiple reasons. The same day we had gotten asked questions about Pony and Johnny, I had an interesting conversation with Sandy. 

“What was it you wanted to walk about?” I had asked, following her to sit down on one of the park benches, a bench dangerously close to the water fountain where the whole Bob ordeal had gone down just two nights before. 

“It’s my parents…” Sandy sighed, not looking at me. “They’re making me move away.” 

“Move away?” I questioned, in shock. “To a house in the same state, same city, on the same street, right?” 

“No, Soda,” She still didn’t look at me. “They’re making me move to Florida.” She looked up at me, saw the shocked and saddened look on my face, and looked back down. “I’m gonna stay with my grandma.”

“What, why?” I realized how loud I was speaking, and lowered my voice slightly. “Why can’t you stay?” 

“It’s either I go to Florida or get married.” 

I perked up. “So? Why can’t you just marry me? I’m here for a reason.” 

“I tried telling them that, but they wouldn’t have me marrying a sixteen-year-old,” Sandy sighed. 

“I’m almost seventeen.” I stated. 

“I don’t think that’ll make it much better, Soda.” Sandy finally looked me in the eye. Her normally happy, blue eyes were filled with despair. “I’ll write to you, I promise you, I will.” She sighed once more. “But, for now… goodbye, Sodapop.” 

I sat there, tears beginning to form in my eyes, as I watched her walk away. My brother left, and now she’s left too. 

I got home from the meeting with Sandy, if you could even call it that, with the worst feeling I’ve felt since the car wreck. I collapsed onto the couch, feeling tears well up in my eyes. I heard someone walk in.

“Hey, someone there?” 

It was Steve. I could recognize his voice anywhere. 

I heard him walk over to where I was. “Soda? You okay buddy? I thought you were out with Sandy.” 

I shook my head. “No, she…” I hesitated. “She’s moving.” 

“Well, who's not a huge problem, is it?” Steve said. “She’s not going too far, right?” 

“No, Steve,” I looked up at him, feeling a few tears flow down my face. “Her folks are making her move to Florida.” I paused, considering if i should go on. “It’s either move or get married, who's what she told me.”

“Why can’t she just marry you?” Steve asked. 

“I said the same thing,” I took a breath. “But they won’t have it, her parents wont let her marry a sixteen-year-old.” 

I lifted my legs to my chest and let my head fall down. I cried until I couldn’t anymore. Sandy was gone, and she wasn’t coming back any time soon. 

Darry came home soon after Steve left. He looked like he had a rough day, but then again, we’ve all been having rough days since Pony and Johnny took off. Darry seemed to be taking it the worst, it seemed like he blamed himself. It was partially his fault, he was the one who hit Ponyboy, but it was Pony and Johnny’s choice to run. 

“Hey Soda,” He said as he closed the door behind him. His voice was reflective of how he was feeling; tired. 

“Hiya, Darry,” I responded and realized I, too, sounded very tired. I was very tired. “You ain’t looking too good.” 

“I ain’t feeling too good.” Darry walked over and sat next to me on the couch. 

“You know what we need?” I said, standing up. 

 

“What?” Darry inquired. I didn’t answer, simply walked over to the record player. 

I flipped through our bin of records until I found the one I was looking for. I placed it on the player and let it play. 

Got a good reason for taking the easy way out…

“Soda?” Darry stood up. “What’s this?” 

I turned to him. “Day Tripper.” He gave me a weird look. “The song!” 

She was a day tripper…

“It’s only my favourite Beatles song!” I exclaimed. “C’mon, let’s try and have fun!”

It took me so long to find out, and I found out… 

Darry looked down, and at first I thought he was gonna be mad, but when he looked up a huge smile cracked on his face. He reached out and grabbed my arms and he swung me around so fast I thought I might fall over. 

She took me half the way there, now… 

Darry and I danced in the living room until the song played out. 

She was a day tripper,  
Sunday driver, yeah,  
It took me so long to find out,  
And I found out,  
Day tripper, day tripper, yeah,  
Day tripper, day tripper, yeah,  
Day tripper, day tripper, yeah

I made Darry and I dinner and then we both decided to at least try and get some sleep. I laid on my bed, the lyrics of Day Tripper running through my head as I tried to fall to sleep. 

I, yet again, didn’t get much sleep much that night. 

I came downstairs the next morning to find that Darry and Two-Bit were already in the kitchen making breakfast. I walked right past Two-Bit and opened the fridge. I pulled out the chocolate milk carton and took a swig. I opened the drawer where the cake usually was and… empty. 

“Guys, where’s the cake?” I asked, turning around to face Two-Bit. 

“Well don’t look at me,” He said, holding his hands up. 

I deadpanned, turning my head to face Darry. 

“You ate the last piece of cake?” I said, tilting my head slightly. 

“I might’ve, yes.” Darry was avoiding looking at me. 

I fake-gasped, putting on a sarcastic tone. “How could you? We had a bonding moment!” 

Darry laughed. “Whatever, just go get ready. If you’re not ready in ten, we’re leaving without you.” 

I nodded, and ran upstairs as fast as I could. When I got downstairs, they were just leaving. Darry dropped me off at the gas station, where I worked for a few hours and took the bus over to Buck’s, where Dally was. They’d hauled him into the station not long after he had left out place when the police were there, and that was the first place he went when he got let out. 

I found him upstairs in one of the bedrooms. 

“Oh, hey Soda,” He said to me when he saw me. 

“Hey Dally.” I waved slightly. “How was-” I cut myself off when I saw something that caught my eye. A dark grey sweater sat at the end of the bed. I pointed to it. “That sweatshirt, it’s Ponyboy’s, is it not?” 

“Uh…” 

“Yeah, it is,” I took a few steps forward. “He was wearing that when he ran off. He was here, you were here, that night. You saw him, didn’t you? You know where he is.” 

“Soda, I don’t-” He paused. “Okay, fine. I know where they are.” He sighed. “And it ain’t Texas.”

“Then where are they?” I asked. 

“Why would I tell you? You’d just drag him right back.” Dally sighed. “And Johnny… well, it ws him who killed that soc.” 

“Johnny? Really?” 

“Yeah, I mean, the kid ws real shook up about it.” Dally looked genuinely concerned. 

“Okay, just,” I sighed, looking around. “You got paper and a pen?” 

“Probably.” Dally stood up and looked around for a minute before finding a piece of blank paper and a black pen. 

“Thanks,” I said when he handed it to me. 

I took a deep breath and started to write. 

_Ponyboy,_

_Well I guess you got into some trouble, huh? Darry and me_  
nearly went nuts when you ran out like that. Darry is awful  
sorry he hit you. You know he didn't mean it. And then you  
and Johnny turned up missing and what with that dead kid  
in the park and Dally getting hauled into the station, well it  
scared us something awful. The police came by to question  
us and we told them as much as we could. I can't believe  
little old Johnny could kill somebody. I know Dally knows  
where you are, but you know him. He keeps his trap shut  
and won't tell me nothing. Darry hasn't got the slightest  
notion where you're at and it is nearly killing him. I wish  
you'd come back and turn yourselves in but I guess you  
can't since Johnny might get hurt. You sure are famous.  
You got a paragraph in the newspaper even. Take care and  
say hi to Johnny for us. 

_Sodapop Curtis_

I folded the paper in half, and then in half again, and handed it to Dally. 

“Give this to him, will you?” 

When I returned home that night, Darry wasn’t home yet. When he did arrive, it was a normal night (well, as normal as it could get at this point). We ate, talked, and then went up to our rooms and tried to sleep. 

The next day was especially eventful. I wasn’t working, but Darry was. I had the house to myself. I baked another cake because a certain brother of mine ate the last piece (we had a bonding moment!). Everything was going fine until the phone rang. 

“Hello?” I said once I picked up. 

“Is this Darrell Curtis?” The person on the other line asked. 

“No, this is Sodapop, his brother,” I answered, slightly confused. What did they want with Darry? “Can I take a message?”

“Well, we’ve got your brother here, Windrixville General Hospital,” The other person said. 

“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” I said and put down the phone. 

Windrixville. It was about 127, 128 miles from Tulsa. About a two hour drive, maybe two and a half. 

I dialled Darry’s work and waited for him to pick up. “Darry? I know where Ponyboy is.” 

I had never seen Darry drive so fast. We arrived at the hospital half an hour earlier than I thought we would. Darry immediately ran up to the visitors desk. 

“Hi, I’m here to see Ponyboy Curtis,” He said, and I noticed his voice was shaking slightly. “I’m Darrell, his brother, and this is Sodapop.” 

“Very well,” The lady at the desk said. She turned and spoke to a few people. “He’s back in the waiting room.” She pointed down a hallway to the left, so that’s where we went. 

I immediately saw Ponyboy running towards us, a huge smile on his face. His hair, though, his hair was horrendous. I love my brother, but his hair looked utterly ridiculous. It was noticeably shorter and bleached, but not very well. It was still dark in some spots, while others were almost white-blond. Clearly whoever did it hadn’t done a very good job. 

I pulled him into a hug. “Oh, Ponyboy, your hair... your tuff, tuff hair..."

My brother was back, and suddenly, everything felt better again. I didn’t care about Sandy, not one bit. I had Ponyboy back in my arms again and, right then, that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this. I probably (and by probably I mean definitely) won't be posting anymore for this fandom. As I mentioned in the summary, this was written as a school assignment and one of my friends urged me into posting it. Also, this is the unedited version so I apologize for any typos.


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